It's a BOY!!!!!!!

We had a healthy baby boy on Sunday 9/27 at 5:44pm.  I will be updating more pictures and his birth story :) But for now this is all I had time for. Thank you for all the prayers. Labor was tough and so is recovering now. But every pain was worth every second I get with this sweet angel.

Oh, I almost forgot his name is....

Finn Wallace

7 lbs 1 oz

21 inches long

Dad's perspective

As I sit here I can't beleive that shortly I'm going to be a dad. Tons of emotions and feelings rush through my head. Rachael is asleep now resting and all is quite in the room, which really allows me to reflect on everything that has gone on these last 9 months. It has been 9 months of "firsts" First postive test, first ultrasound, first time watching "how to" dvd's, etc. I have really tried to soak it in as much as I could, but this quite moment really allows me to do that now. To think I'm going to be a dad is a huge undertaking, but one I know I can do with the support of my wife and Lord and Savior. I embrace this new responsibility and wait for the many "special" moments I will share with my baby, toddler, teenager, and adult. :) For now, I just soak it all in and wait for that moment that I wiil be a dad :)

Baby update #2

I'm going to be a mom today! Last night consisted of tossing and turning and very little sleep. :) I woke up w/ alot of pain and alot of contractions. I was able to get in the sweet whirpool tub, which eased the pain a little  bit. Just when I thought the pain couldn't get any worse the epidural come to my rescue :)  and I feel great and normal, which is kind of weird. My mom, mother-in-law, and sister were able to see me, which was great. Now I'm off to take a nap and get my last rest in before it is time for baby Walkup to make its arrive! :)

Baby update #1

We spend our day being lazy and waiting for the hospital to call. Greg watched college football and graded papers while I stayed in bed resting. While my mom was over visiting I got a nice surprise when the hospital called and said we could come early at 4:00 instead of later in the evening. It then alll became reality! Greg and I checked, double checked, and then checked again our lists of things to bring to the hospital. All of emotions of like , "wow, this is really going to happen!" started to sink in. We packed up and drove to the hospital in the rain. We checked in and were welcomed by a sweet staff. While I talked and filled out forms w/ the nurse Greg used this time to get the room set up like we were at a hotel on a vacation :) It is almost 10 and I'm having painful contractions, but can't wait for the end result :) Concentrating on my happy place, which for me is a visual of the ocean from the beach on my honeymoon. I will be induced tommorrow at 7. Hopefully I'll have time to take a dip in the sweet whirpool tub. If not, I know Greg will :) For now, goodnight and pray for a peaceful night as this time tommorrow I will be looking at my sweet baby's face :)

My last post pre-baby

Hey friends/prayer warriors,
Well, we are being induced this weekend! We will be admitted tomorrow night and then Sunday morning they will start Piticon. I can hardly believe that i'm gonna have a baby THIS weekend! Anyway, i'm on bedrest for the rest of today and tomorrow because of high blood pressure. So atleast I get to rest alot before the labor begins. Anyway, I'm writing one last post with some prayer requests and praises. I would really appreciate your prayers! And remember stay tuned updates will happen once labor begins.

::Requests::
-My blood pressure will stay until control through now, delivery, and afterwards
-Baby will be kept healthy through now and delivery
-Labor will be safe, good, and quick :)
-Gregory and I wont be overwhelmed with whats about to happen
-Gregory and I lean and depend on the Lord and each other this weekend
-I will be able to endure the pain of labor (until I can get the epidural)
-No complications during labor (praying for a natural delivery-no c-section)

::Praises::
-I've carried this baby 39 weeks
-Baby has been healthy the whole time
-We are getting to meet our baby early
-We will be delivering at a hospital 10 minutes from home
-We have everything we need for this newborn at home
-We're having a BABY!!!!!

Look how far we've come...

Here I am 10 weeks in...

And then here I am 39 weeks in...

I praise the Lord for this beautiful gift and can hardly wait to meet this little baby that has made me sick, kicked me, kept me company, and grown inside of me!

I'm looking forward to so many things :) This is going to be an amazing new chapter in my life.

Once we head into the hospital, my good friend Ashly will be updating the blog with my progress. So stay tuned!

Crafty friends and a sweet puppy!

I've come to realize I have some really crafty friends :) This was made by my friend Kim. Aren't these onesies and the burp clothe so cute! She made these for Baby Walkup and I absolutely love them, thanks Kim!

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My good friend Karin come over a two weeks ago to help me get my nursery organized. When she was here, I tested our dog Savannah to see how she would do with a 1 yr old. She did awesome, once I gave her boundaries she was good to go. Here are some fun pictures of the two of them. We couldn't get a great one of the both of them-but we did get an adorable picture of David :)

Isn't David precious?

Wait David, stay right there! haha!

Great picture of David, but Savannah-look at the camera!

Savannah was in a trance and David didn't want to sit there anymore-oh well! :)

The waiting game...

Yes thats right, just the waiting game! Last week, we had a false alarm. I went into labor but turns out it was just my body preparing. After 2 doctor visits and actually checking into the hospital we are left just waiting again :) We have 11 days til our due date and they are going by so slowly! Especially now that we had a close encouter with this sweet baby arriving. So the plan now is to rest and wait patiently. We go to the doctor next week on Thursday and they will discuss induction dates with us. We'd obviously like to go into labor on our own-but we will see.

I am resting on these words of the Lord. This is from the Message:
"But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind."
Isaiah 40:31

Only our BIG God knows the true due date of this sweet baby. So we must be patient and wait upon the Lord.

The good news is everything is ready at the house. Gregory and I can totally rest and spend time together. And for that I am very thankful. I'm in pain and could use LOTS of prayers. This baby is totally out of room and this first stage of labor is LONG!

Thanks in advance :)

The nursery completed and homemade gifts....

And the nursery is all complete! Here are some pictures, let me know what you think...

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For those of you that know me, you know i'm not a gifts person. I mean I love gifts, but I receive love through words. My love language is words of affirmation.However, lately-I have gotten some really sweet gifts for Baby Walkup. And you can see below why I love these so much. They are so precious and I will cherish them for years to come. Thanks to Jenni, Mata, Lynn, and Michelle for the awesome gifts!

This monkey was made by my sweet friend Jenni. It's completely handmade, isn't that awesome!

And these two hats/booties were given and made by Mata (our Slovokian sister) and a coworker of Greg's.  I think they are so sweet!

And these paintings are hand painted by my friend Michelle. They match the nursery perfect!

Nursery tour....

Here is a tour of the nursery. I just have to hang 3 frames and add a few pictures on the dresser. Let me know what you think!

Prayer requests...

This morning in my quiet time, the Lord reminded me to "be still and know that [He] is God". I know the power of prayer is huge, so I thought I would post some prayer requests on here. I would love it, if you could take a moment each day or once a week for the next 3 weeks to pray for me, Baby Walkup, and Greg. Please comment and let me know if your praying, even if I don't personally know you I would still love your prayers and i'd like to thank you :)

-I start progressing towards labor (they won't induce me before 10/2 unless i'm atleast 1 cm dilated-and i'd like to schedule with a doctor i know that week)
-Or that I go into labor on my own and don't have to be induced-God knows ths baby's birthday already!
-I can get some sleep over the next 3 weeks (haven't been sleeping much which is making me pretty irritable)
-That this baby will be healthy, a good eater, good sleeper, etc
-That Greg and I will lean on the Lord to prepare us for the baby
-Patience for me, I keep thinking 3 weeks isnt far at all but thats making it go slower
-Comfort for me when my body is very much in pain
-Safe delivery (if possible no c-section)
-That this experience has made my marriage stronger and we can rely on each other in the weeks to come

Thank you all so much! I'm excited for this new chapter to begin!

Ps-here's a picture of me from this past week...


Be sure to go to my blog and vote if you think Baby Walkup is gonna be a girl or boy :)